Friday, September 18, 2009

I'm not a dog, please stop whistling at me.

Back home in Michigan I always hated walking or driving past a group of migrant workers. No matter the time of day it seems they would whistle, cat-call or make any assortment of bird calls and just NOISE to get your attention. I'm not a crazy blond bomb shell so I figured that they were a couple thousand miles away from home and wives and girlfriends and they were just horny bastards.

Perhaps not.

Here in Mexico I doubt I've made it one day without being "harassed" by men on the street. I don't want to say harassed because it's so commonplace here and they don't say bad things, but for lack of better word, that's what I'm going with.

Whether I'm driving my car down the street, parked someplace or just walking, I'm bombarded by all sorts of noise to get me to avert my attention. Whistles are common but more often, Mexican men have this certain "CHH CHH CHH" or "SHHH SHHH SHHH" noise that they make with their mouth. Sometimes they'll just hiss and other times they'll actually yell out "WERA!!" (light skinned girl!) Or just "EH!"

If I'm at a stoplight and they've got time it goes something like this "EH! Eh! CSHHH CSHHH EH! SSSSSSS WERA!" "WERAAAA!"

Every day.

These days I ignore them and refuse to look in their direction but at the beginning they startled me and I'd look. :P When I turn to look at them they never really say much, just Ogle or wave or smile like a crazy person. I don't get it. I went through an angry period a few months ago where I informed my husband that I am not a DOG and do not appreciate being called to like one and would be giving them "the hand" or even perhaps "the finger" from then on. That didn't last and I never threw out any gestures, I'd end up feeling like a real jerk and I know it.

One night Chino and I were sitting out on our patio watching the street when a lady and her child walked by the house. My dog started to bark at her so I started "SHHH'shing her" (the dog) and my husband told ME to quit it because the lady would think that I was calling to her. "Say wha???" was my response because HOW COULD SHE NOT KNOW that I was Shushing the dog!? But he's right, it's that big of a THING here. Now days I don't know how to tell my dog to shut up, that whole "no" thing doesn't work for her.

I wish I understood this whole thing or where it comes from and why it's OK here, but it as of yet alludes me. Do you think it's stopped now that I'm a gigantic pregnant lady? You might want to think again if you do.

THANK YOU!! My question EXACTLY!! I rant this to C. all the time "WHAT is the point? WHY don't they say anything else? DO THEY REALLY THINK I'M GOING TO DROP MY PANTS OVER THIS?? Or fall in to their arms in love? JUST WHAT!?" Construction workers - :P I had one whistle to me IN MY MOVING VEHICHLE from atop a building the other day. What kind of eye sight do they HAVE? Eagle vision? Wtf?

This has got to be the question of the century. This is what i've been told. White girls are like gold to mexicans and asians. Like a trophy. So, seeing as how Mexican men have pride and an ego the size of Mexico itself, I'd bet that they really could give a shit less if we look like quazimoto, they just want to see if we're going to throw a smile right back at them and their "chhh chh chhh hola wera! que bonita" bullshit...i mean, i'm just sayin'... haha.

Apparently, it's not just Mexico. The Big Guy tells me that when we go to Spain next summer (already working the Rosetta Stone program!) I'm not allowed to go outside the hotel without him. I don't know if they still do it, but the last time he was over there (30 years ago), they would actually pinch the backsides of women they found attractive and unaccompanied!

Upsate - OOOooo Rosetta Stone!!?? Is it really as good as they say??Ok and WOW Spain? Are you into bullfighting? What led you guys there? DAMN IT UPSTATE you are so INTERESTING! Didn't you blog for like 3 weeks back when? You're such a tease to me, I think you're so neato. FINE, miss I'm not a blogger, I'll just ask you my thousands of questions here in my comments. So there. :P That's cute of your husband btw :) You could always wear butt-pads if you need to go out alone :P

I am learning disabled when it comes to languages in general, and I've tried studying several of them in different formats, including one-on-one tutoring. I have to admit I'm learning easier from Rosetta Stone, but I'm not going to be fluent anytime soon. I can come up with the nouns and SOME of the verbs, but I'm just never going to get them to agree. And the whole feminine & masculine nouns... just forget it. I'm always going to get those wrong, and I'm okay with that, they'll still understand what I'm trying to say, I'm sure.

It's not me that's interesting, Gringa, it's the Big Guy. I'm boring as hell. He spent a summer in Spain as a teenager, an immersion program to help him learn Spanish. He's always wanted to go back, so he decided we should celebrate his 50th there next July. And no, no bull fights on the agenda. Grandpa was a dairy farmer, I just can't tolerate watching them torture the poor dumb beasts.

Oh, 2 words that might come in handy for you. Encima = above or on top. Debajo = underneath. Just cuz we know what kind of beotch you are!

Omg! they do that here too!You would think if ur wearing a ring they wouldnt but NOPE!!!!one time me and my husband was out shopping well he stopped at the gas station to get gas and while he was in there this Mexican guy started hollering at me and saying come here come here I love you I was like WHAT!!! u don't even know me and PLUS IM MARRIED and rolled up the window!

and my husband came out and he was still hollering at me! idk what the deal is about it either hum we may NEVER know!

Upstate - Nope not believing that for a moment. You used to be an expert marksman and aside from your work guns you bought TWO 9mm - just because you liked to shoot.

You're THAT bad ass and cool. Moving on.

OMG I'm always putting an O ending with a La beginning or A end with an EL starter doo-hicke. I've been hitting the verbs hard lately but whenever I try and actually SPEAK something I find myself scrolling through my mind-chart "e', aste, o', amos, aron" :P to get the right end part. (plus I count them off on my fingers like a reeetard)

Encima and Debajo? That's hilarious (dag gum dialects and 10 different ways to say ONE THING) my books use arriba and abajo. (but c. uses debajo) Shoot me. **I looked it up on google translate and it appears they all work.** Crap on a cracker.

And thank you for not going to the bull fight. So sad, I love cows. (ok and I know cow is the like, mature female, but for me the whole set are cows)

:PPP And yeaahhhh I learned all sorts of words that I can use in that "situation" :P I learn a lot faster when I'm inspired.

Kelly - Yeppers, ring and all. AND YES!! - they WILL go nuts as soon as the husband is looking the other way. Not cool yo.

Don't think pregnancy will buy you any reprieve. I was nine months pregnant and oh-so-obviously so, and kept getting the attention. I did notice, though, that most of the whistles and cat calls I got were from men approaching from behind, like maybe they didn't see my big ol' pregger belly until they passed by and they'd already hollered. Surprise! And even walking around with a newborn baby didn't put an end to it. So get used to it. It'll never end.

I'm getting better at ignoring it now. Still, I wish I was wittier in Spanish and could through back some choice comments once in a while. oh well. Probably best not to.

Wow. Here in GDL it's gone a step further. The groseros here don't even need to whistle or "ssshh!" (although they still do).... They have a HORN that makes the "Whoo hoo" sound for them!

As for the ego size of Mexico... I will vouch for that. The men here are pinche puercos... for lack of a nicer word. However, I do find the motto here of GDL rather amusing. See, if you are from Guadalajara, you are from where "Real Manly Men come from"....and if you ask someone outside GDL, you'll hear something like, where real "men's men" come from... considering there are more gay men here in all of mexico. So while the guys here try to throw cat calls and whistle in front of their homies... we know what's really going on. ;)

Vadose - Even carrying a baby?? Aye nombre. :P And I get what you mean about wanting to say something back, but it's so common place here I think that WE would come across as the crazy ones for being offended. GAAHHH

Refried - "Mens Men" EEeeeeeeee that's good! :P The Machismo is incredible yes? And the honking, that's a good one but people honk SO MUCH in traffic here, I can never tell who it's meant for :P

Gringa Lindy

WELCOME

Picture it, Sicily 19.... well no. How about Michigan, where I was born, raised up a dorky, country chick and met my husband about 7 years ago. He was deported about a year and a half after we were married so I packed up our stuff, my dog, and moved on down here to Mexico to live a crazy Mexican life. We've got great taco's but also cockroaches the size of my fist, so... it sort of evens out. :D